Police trying to identify subject of explicit conversations

Officials at a growing number of Baltimore-area private schools are sending out a strong warning to parents after police said a person may be targeting students on social media to send sexually explicit messages and photos.

Police reports of a possible sexual predator targeting students on social media have raised new questions and concerns about student safety, and while school officials have sent warning letters to parents, a local child abuse safety advocate says it's also a call to act. Kai Reed reports.

Police said despite what area private schools are reporting that there may be more than 50 victims. They are only investigating a situation involving two girls from St. Paul's School for Girls.

According to police, one of the victims accepted a friend request on Facebook from the suspect back in the summer of 2012. A second victim accepted a friend request from the same suspect last week.

Both teen girls told police the person engaged in a sexually explicit video chat with them. The girls reported the incident to school officials, who called police.

But police still aren't sure who they are looking for or if a crime was committed.

"Sending explicit material electronically is not necessarily a crime, depending on the circumstances. Some could be. What is the age of the suspect and the victim? If the suspect is a juvenile, that's a very different situation than if you're talking an adult," Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said.

Michelle Wax, who has two students at the McDonogh School, told 11 News she found out about the incident after officials at her school sent a letter home to parents.

"Coming from the headmaster and the school, the kids really are thinking about it," Wax said.

A number of other private schools, including St. Paul's, did the same thing, 11 News learned. The letters claim the suspect used one of the following screen names -- J.P. Smith, Brian Pond, JPL 42 or Matlax -- on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat.

Such texting and photo-sharing cellphone apps have made parents' jobs of keeping up with students' social media activity more complicated, according to Baltimore Child Abuse Center Executive Director Adam Rosenberg, who said social media predators are a growing reality.

"There's always going to be a new platform, a new playground, a new area that children and people are going to be interacting, whether it's virtual or it's real, and I think it's our responsibility to know what those playgrounds are and to familiarize ourselves with those platforms," Rosenberg said.

Apps like Snapchat, Tagged and Kik allow users to text each other over the Internet. Such apps can be easy to hide with little or no record of the conversation, experts said. Regardless of the social media platform, Rosenberg insisted that open communication is key.

"Have conversations with our children about what the rules and the boundaries are and the parameters of each of those spaces that they're in, and maybe once in a while we do need to take a walk through their phones or their computers. As long as they're our children, they need to understand we have the authority and responsibility to occasionally take a look at their phone and their computer. Even if they don't like it, it's our job to do it," he said.

Parents should be friends with their children on social media, and children should never be friends with strangers, Rosenberg said.

"Online exploitation of children can be just as serious and detrimental to children as a physical act of abuse, particularly when there's an enticement going on, or there are naked photos being shared back and forth over the internet. That's the exploitation of a child," he said.

Meanwhile, Wax said she and other parents were bothered by the incident and hope their kids will learn to be more careful on social media.

"Hopefully, they can make smart decisions that when something like this happens, they will think about it and hopefully not friend somebody they don't know," she said.

Detectives said they are trying to find out more about the suspect. They said there is no indication the person made or attempted to make physical contact with the girls.

THE BALTIMORE -- THEY'LL FACE A MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR EACH COUNT OF WIRE FRAUD. OFFICIALS AT A GROWING NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ARE SITTING OUT A STRONG WARNING TO PARENTS AFTER POLICE SAY A PERSON MAYBE'S TARGETING STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO SEND X LISTED MESSAGES AND PHOTOGRAPHS. LOWELL MELSER JOINS US LIVE. PLEASE TELL US DESPITE WHAT THESE PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE REPORTING THAT THERE MAY BE MORE THAN 50 VICTIMS. THEY ARE INVESTIGATING A SITUATION INVOLVING TWO GIRLS FROM ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. THEY ARE NOT SURE WHO THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A POINT OR IF A CRIME WAS COMMITTED. SENDING EXPLICIT MATERIAL ELECTRONICALLY IS NOT NECESSARILY A CRIME DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES. DEPENDING ON THE AGE OF THE SUSPECT. THE SUSPECT IS A JUVENILE, THAT IS A DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN YOU ARE TALKING AN ADULT. POLICE CONCERNED AND BAFFLED OVER A BIZARRE SITUATION UNFOLDING INVOLVING AT LEAST TWO STUDENTS AT ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. ONE OF THE VICTIMS EXCEPTED A FRIEND REQUEST ON FACEBOOK FROM THE SUSPECT IN THE SUMMER OF 2012. A SECOND VICTIM POLICE A ACCEPTED A REQUEST FROM THE SAME SUSPECT LAST WEEK. BOTH TOLD POLICE OFFICERS THAT THE PERSON ENGAGED IN A SEXUALLY EXPLICIT VIDEO CHAT WITH THE TEENAGE GIRLS. THEY REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO SCHOOL OFFICIALS WHO CALLED POLICE. COMING FROM THE HEADMASTER AND OUR SCHOOL, THE KIDS ARE MAKING ABOUT IT. MICHELLE WAX SAID SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS AFTER OFFICIALS SENT A LETTER HOME. THE LETTERS CLAIMED THAT THE SUSPECT USED ONE OF THE ESE NAMES. SHE AND OTHER PARENTS WERE BOTHERED BY THE INCIDENT AND HOPE THEIR KIDS WILL BE MORE CAREFUL. WHO THEY CAN MAKE SMART DECISIONS THA T WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS THEY WILL THINK ABOUT IT AND NOT FRIEND SOMEONE THEY DO NOT KNOW. THEY WILL TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO THIS SUSPECT IS. PLEASE ALSO TELL US THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THIS PERSON MADE OR ATTEMPTED TO MAKE ANY PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE GIRLS.